film

Disco-fueled drama looks for love in several wrong places

By Devin D. O’Leary

Gloria Bell is about seeking out and accepting joy in life’s tiny moments, not wallowing in misery. Its empowering coda is mild and delivered as a spur-of-the-moment whim in an act that leads less to a life-changing epiphany and more to a moment of Zen-like acceptance.

Animated film folds art history lessons into Hitchcock-style thriller

By Devin D. O’Leary

Like all great works of art, your appreciation of Ruben Brandt, Collector may depend on what you bring to it. Watched as a casual, technically proficient imitation of a classic, Hitchcock-style move caper, it's a breezy, stylish diversion. Push past the surface and dive deep into its multiple layers and it's a Stendhal syndrome-inducing intellectual exercise.

Gaspar Noé gets down with his bad self in one freaky acid trip

By Devin D. O’Leary

Half Bob Fosse and half Marquis de Sade, Climax will be a torture test for the average moviegoer. But for those in the market for something unshakably original, this is one very bad trip you might want to check out for yourself.

Manic sequel builds on the original’s clever legacy

By Devin D. O’Leary

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part comes awfully close to meeting what amounts to some very high expectations. It’s surprising, funny, original and emotional. And like its predecessor, it’s a perfect film for kids and parents alike.

Oscar-nominated romance unfolds behind, in front of, the Iron Curtain

By Devin D. O’Leary

A sad ballad juxtaposing the intimate with the international, Cold War is a masterpiece of economy and image, mapping out the often seismic changes common to all affairs—the emotional as well as the political.

Keanu Reeves goes old school in retrograde sci-fi thriller

By Devin D. O’Leary

Replicas feels more like a Syfy Channel “mockbuster” parody of a sci-fi film than an actual sci-fi film. The effects grow increasingly junky, and the whole thing devolves into a poorly staged string of chases scenes involving lots of interchangeable guys in black suits with guns.

Mean and nasty historical drama makes ambition a courtly enterprise

By Devin D. O’Leary

The Favourite is loopy, long-winded and devolves into increasingly misanthropic spirals, but has wonderfully deadpan humor, scabrous assessment of female power dynamics and a well-played lesbian twist.